Near-sighted Farsight

No. You're Wrong.

2012-01-12T23:30:00.000-05:00

In which our hero avoids the Facebook comment bar like the plague....

If I am particularly possessed of one fault, aside from my vanity, pride, stubbornness etc. It is that I love to argue. By that I do not mean that I actively seek out arguments but if there is something to argue about, I'm there. I am overly argumentative and, often, overly loud. No doubt if you have met me in person you have recognized this. I also have the bad tendency to get frustrated while arguing and to consequently raise my voice to ungodly levels; mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

But, that said, I cannot stand getting in or reading arguments on Facebook/twitter/whatever-other-media-thing-you-use.

It is not that I think that the stuff that is often discussed should not be discussed. However I know that it is all too easy to demonize and dehumanize people on the internet. Even if something is meant to be a discussion between two friends about their personal views, it can quickly turn into two people bickering and writing walls of text at each other. Neither party thinks that they can persuade the other, they both just have to have the last word, and it has to sound cleverer than the other guy's last word.

Sometimes people will post things hoping for an argument. I really can't understand it. Perhaps they are annoyed at someone with whom they have had the same argument. Maybe they are just trying to start a comment war. Either way, someone takes a bite and the days of back and forth start.

Words are excellent things. I think that one of the most important gifts that God has given to man is the ability to read, write, and understand words. Conversation is important, there are times when it is appropriate to discuss ideas and try to reach an understanding or conclusion, or just to learn that you disagree.
One of the problems with the Facebook or blog comment wars is that both parties are set in their ideas, and they both know that the other person is not going to change their mind.

This is not true of normal face to face conversation. Even if neither side agrees on anything, they are less likely to walk away fuming at the other guy for being so obstinate and posting when the argument was 'obviously' over after a comment made at the very beginning. In person it is much easier to argue with a friend and then say to him, "I understand about the food baby Bubba but we're still friends."

When you write an argument down in, relatively, short bursts on the internet it leads to confusion and/or mockery. People willfully misinterpret what people write in order to gain 'points' for their argument. Explaining this misinterpretation takes time, and often while one person is clarifying the other will continue to post word walls. This isn't a one sided thing, most arguments on Facebook include both sides doing this back and forth.

When I watch arguments on Facebook it disturb me. I will watch kind, friendly people speak to each other in a manner which I know they would not use in person.
Once again I will admit that I am deeply guilty of this, a thousand times over. Mea culpa.

Perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps the people I like so well, whom I trust to be so friendly to me, no matter what the context, are actually just waiting for me to say the wrong thing and then to spring on me with nasty commentary and sarcastic jabs.... I hope not, or I'm doomed.

Thank you for reading my excessively long monologue... or is it a soliloquy? Maybe it's just another in a never ending succession of internet arguments....

The Symbolic Symbolised Symbolism!

2012-01-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

In which our hero plays video games, watches movies, reads books and visits churches....

I love symbolism, I really do; I think it's from spending the time focusing on all the various pieces of symbolism which I was taught as an Acolyte; the hows and whys of what we do.

I don't really want to talk about any particular symbolism... but I might end up doing so before the end of this post. We will see, shan't we?

I think I'll just name one for each category... maybe.

Starting with video games.
The Elder Scrolls: Perhaps my favorite video game series. It doesn't have a lot of real world related symbolism, but the in game wealth of lore is a treasure trove of meaty game-related symbolism. To a certain extent the games do use certain theological or philosophical ideas and they usually have some meaty symbolism attached.

Movies, movies are a wealth of symbolism. They have all the advantage of art, as regards symbolism, but they can present you with thousands of images and they can also include wonderful dialogue that is loaded with symbolism.
V for Vendetta: As regards symbolism in movies, this is a great film. It's a Frank Miller production, and showcases his excellent artistic flair. The movie's symbolism largely relates to the views espoused by the main characters. However, the depth of that symbolism grows out of every aspect of the film.

Books, which in my opinion are the greatest and simplest medium for conveying symbolism. Words are the catalysts of ideas, symbolism usually reflects a story or an event, but all stories and events must first be expressed in words.
I think I'll just make a list... it would take forever to write something distinct for each book.
To name a few: The Chronicles of Narnia (duh); Ender's Game; Harry Potter; LOTR; Animal Farm; just to name a few... there are a lot.

I also love visiting old, and sometimes new, churches. I won't go into details, but know that if I visit your church, I will immediately begin to judge it according to it's level of theological symbolism; judging both it's architecture and it's decor.

So that's my spiel. Hope you find it fun, or useful, or something.

New Year... Yay...

2012-01-01T21:30:00.000-05:00

I feel I should post something about the New Year... But all the best stuff has been said by much wiser and better writers than I.

Therefore, I will not waste my time and yours with a long New Year spiel.

However, I would like to wish everybody a happy New Year, for what it's worth. And I would like to join the aforementioned wiser better writer in thanking God for His abundant grace and mercy to us wretched sinners.

So, Happy New Year, God bless you.

This Week With Oscy

2011-12-29T23:13:00.000-05:00

In which our hero smack-talks at video games....

This week we have Oscy: Those of mutual acquaintance will know to whom I refer.
Needless to say he is a good friend and an excellent smack-talker. He is visiting this week to help us break-in the new HD tv.

I love watching him and my little brother play MW: II together; it's funny stuff. They sit and communicate strategies to each other, or smack-talking each other depending on how things are going.

The itinerary for Oscy's stay has been as follows....
Day one: We took Oscy home with us after Wednesday Divine Service; we then proceeded to fritter away the rest of the afternoon playing "ESV: Skyrim" and chatting about the game and the previous entries in the series; we enjoyed a wonderful meal provided by the grace of God through the agency of his servant, teh Mama; after dinner, we carried on with the playing of "Skyrim", staying up much later than is entirely wholesome.

Day two--thus far--: The day started for the three of us with another Divine Service, after which we stayed at church to drink coffee and chat for an hour; we then went home and spent most of the day, you guessed it, playing video games; we took a hiatus from the gaming and attended our churches Thursday night Divine Service -aren't we pious- and when we came back we watched "The King's Speech" a very good movie.
As of right now, even as I write this, they are attempting great feats of video gaming prowess.

Neither of them has dared the other to eat anything gross yet, but it's coming.

Ah, I love having Oscy over.

Hobbies... Or the Lack Thereof

2011-12-11T16:50:00.001-05:00

Today I was struck by the strong urge to do a musical. Sadly the local theater groups aren't doing anything that interests me right now. The urge hit me after watching a short video of Lego minifigures singing "One Day More" from "Les Miserables". Les Miz is my very favorite musical and, in my opinion, it is simply the best ever.

But that was only the beginning of the train of thought for this post. As I realized that there were no musicals I wanted to do right now, I also realized that, except for Choir, Greek, and sporadic DnD, I have little to occupy my time. I lack a serious hobby. I sing, but apart from memorization and theory there is not much there on which to invest my time. I have been taking piano, but it does not take me very long every day to play through all of my practice pieces several times.

So then, my dilemma is this; I have too much time on my hands and I often find myself frittering it away in a mixture of anxious thought, boredom, passive entertainments, and frustratedly rambling at anyone who will listen. I spend much time at church, but not often doing anything of real use, aside from attending matins or the Divine service. I asked a friend what she thought and she told me what should have been obvious to me, I need to find something to interest myself in, a skill or hobby.

And so I find myself in a dilemma which I am not unfamiliar with. What should I spend my extra time on? I could certainly read more than I currently do, I definitely do not do enough of it. I could hunker down and work hard on my Greek, however most of the time that I am looking for something to do I am not looking for the mental gymnastics of Greek.... Or maybe I'm just too lazy....

I would appreciate any suggestions. Right now I am at a mental impasse, so any fresh thoughts would be lovely.

A Brief Thought For Advent

2011-11-28T22:16:00.001-05:00

I don't like to post theological tidbits on my blog. I feel that I am rather not the person to consult on anything beyond the most basic of doctrines. I wouldn't say I am uninformed or ignorant of these things, but there are many who are much wiser than I am.

That being said. I had an interesting thought this weekend.

Sunday's gospel was the account of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The Lord almighty entering his own city, lowly, sitting on a Donkey, to loud cries of Hosanna. But it goes on, not everyone was singing Hosannas, there was a great disturbance in the city, a 'stirring up' of the people. This is not a positive reaction, they are fearful and speculative.

I do not know why, but today as I was considering this gospel I thought of when Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees in Luke: 11:14-22. He speaks to them concerning the house divided, referring to their accusation of his casting out demons by Beelzebul. He speaks first concerning a house divided; then when he speaks of casting out demons by the finger of God he goes on to use the Strong man analogy. A Strong Man with his armor and his sword is comfortable and at peace, relaxing. However, One who is stronger than he overcomes him and divides his spoils, taking his armor in which he trusted.

Up til now, as you can tell, has just been referencing the gospels. Here is my exegetical thought.

We have entered Advent, Death has been reigning freely, the Devil roams like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. They sit in their palace of hell, wearing the armor of unrepentant sin and wielding the sword of the law's condemnations.They sit comfortably, confident in the fallen nature of men doubting that God will fulfill his promise to Adam and Eve.

But then, the Christ, the Stronger man, comes lowly, with no armor, into this house of death, he overpowers Death and the Devil, claiming for himself the spoils of the souls of mankind. Even as he does so, men refuse him and allow Death and the Devil full reign once more. (Luke: 11: 23-26)

It's a thought, not particularly deep and definitely not unfamiliar. But I liked it.

Yet Another Frustrated Rant

2011-11-14T19:23:00.001-05:00

Recently I have felt terribly disenfranchised. I followed the lead of the higher ups; forgave them for their departures from their core principles; faithfully endorsed their ventures; eagerly anticipated their dicta; answering their questions and reading their publications, not complaining about their ever increasing cost....

I am, of course, referring to the Lego company.

If you know me well at all, you will know that I am a die hard Lego fan. I love my Legos.
In more recent years though I have seen a steady and increasing disparity between my hopes and expectations and the delivered product. In short, I feel that Lego is losing its spark. In an attempt to become more marketable and profitable they have departed from what was, in my opinion, mind you, their greatest appeal, that Legos are what you make them to be. You do not need some sort of convoluted plot line about ninjas with super natural elemental spinning powers. The Lego sets are ultimately meant to be taken apart and reconfigured into the creations of your mind; zany starships, massive castles, obscure architecture, or maybe just a quiet little town. (Soon to be destroyed by aliens mind you.)

Lego's strategy is brilliant though. Create a storyline revolving around a dozen or so sets then sell them as a progressing story that you can partake of if only you would purchase all those sets. The plan is perfectly keyed towards those who lack imagination.

I have followed Lego for many years, and I believe that I have pinpointed the dock and vessel of this sad departure.

The year was 2000, the world of Lego consisted of very few genres, Star Wars Legos had just hit the scene, the Pirates were gone, Johnny Thunder was raiding tombs, the Bull knights were threatening the Kingdom, City Legos were prevalent. All of these groups and none of them really had a story to speak of, there were bad guys and good guys and adventures, everything else was up to you. Then, on December 30th, the Legos company released its new highly anticipated series.... "Bionicle" was highly successful. Featuring named elementally supercharged heroes and a flashy comic book series, the Bionicle franchise went on to have over eight re-inventions over the next ten years, and still lives on under another name.

Of course it wasn't an overnight change and perhaps I'm too critical, I loved Bionicle up until it had been going for over five years, then I got frustrated with it. However, after Bionicle's creation, the nature of Lego genres began to morph. Overtime it came to be that everything was a gimmick, everything had special powers or special abilities. The stories no longer consisted of the classic cops and robbers kind of set up. Legos started to be less about what you could build on your own and more about what you could build if you would only buy all of the sets.

Now, earlier I mentioned prices. I realize it is more economic reality than it is anything else. Legos are made out of plastic, plastic means oil, oil prices go up the cost of plastic goes up and Legos are more expensive to manufacture, not to mention the increase in prices for the shipping of the Legos from where they are made.

As well as this there is inflation. A weakening dollar which makes it more expensive to run their business forces Lego to place some of that cost on the consumer. There is of course also an element of profit in this equation. Lego is more popular than ever and they are able to charge what they do because of their company's strong name, people know that Legos are a high quality product, and the children don't care how much it costs... just as long as they get their Legos.

I used to have a very accurate rating system, Legos were an .8:10 ratio, for eighty cents you received ten Lego pieces. Then it increased to a 1:10, every dollar was ten Lego pieces. And now, more recently, the ratio has been 1.2:10 and the price keeps rising. It seems every time I enter a store the price of Legos has gone up. Even the used Lego market on Ebay is steep.

I still love Legos, and I still go to the Lego aisle and look at the sets there on the off chance that there will be something that I want, but there never is and every two months the salt is rubbed into the wounds by the Lego magazine whichs always reveals Lego's next big story genre.

I am disenfranchised, torn by my life long love of Legos and my ever increasing cynicism concerning the future of the brand for which I used to save my every penny.
That's all, I'm done now. Sigh....

The Mostest Bestest Mama

2011-11-09T11:59:00.000-05:00

Earlier today, during coffee after Lauds, the topic of the 'generation gap' came up. The one who presented the topic did not believe in it's existence; he didn't experience it with his children and he doesn't remember it as a child. I agreed that it does not naturally occur, but rather it is the product of the industrial schooling system. On our own, we want to be our parents--at least I do--we want to be smart, we want to solve problems, we want to know things and know how to get things done.

However, if you drop a child in the midst of his childish peers all it takes is one child complaining about his parents saying that they aren't cool or just in general being discontent, after that it snowballs; peer pressure kicks in and everybody jumps on the generation gap bandwagon. Children who never have thought that the rules of their parents were unjust are convinced otherwise by their peers. And so, having established this disrespect for the authority of their parents, they go on to perhaps have their own children, but *they* know better than their parents did, *they* are going to be *good* parents and not be so strict.

In many ways this disrespect is encouraged by the schools and pop culture. Advertizing appeals to it all the time. The schools encourage it every time that they contradict a child's parents. Creationism vs. evolution; disagreements of political ideology; the constant narrative of the power and wisdom of the government; all of these things contribute to a lack of faith in the wisdom and efficacy of one's own progenitors.

Now, with that in mind, I get to the point of this blog post.

It is with profound and humbling honor that I acknowledge this most auspicious of days. This prestigious natal day of one who is very likely the coolest, wisest, most awesomest, kick-buttest, wonderfullest, goshdarnedbestest mamas in the whole wide world, nay, in the universe.

Happy Birthday Mama!
That's all.

A Tall Tale of Trade

2011-11-03T23:31:00.000-04:00

I have a tale for you, my friends. A tale of hardship and struggle. A tale of four colonies struggling to survive in a rugged landscape....

Once upon a time, a great fleet of ships searching for a new home arrived on a bountiful island, Catan. They immediately struck out into this vast new land in an attempt to find their place. Many went north searching for wealth where there was wheat and brick, and the brick in that land was good. Some made their home on the far end of the island; they lived in peace with all despite being the greatest military power, and chose to devote their days to defending the land from robbers.

And then their were those who took for themselves the southern portion of the island. They were shrewd traders. They quickly expanded, claiming for their own the entirety of the south. They bade their time, working trades with the other colonies slowly positioning themselves into the perfect position. And then it happened...a merchant came to the local governor and said his favorite word in the world: monopoly. The shrewd merchant had discovered a way in which their colony could claim ownership of all brick produced on the island. The governor mobilized, and within a month the governors of the other colonies were informed of the treachery. They prayed for robbers to descend on the merchant colony, but no robbers came.

At that time, the local economy saw a great uptick in production; wood, grain and sheep were in great supply and the governor of the southern colony had great ambitions. He wished to build cities, and a great road that would make his colony the dominant force in the land but he had no ore to build his cities. Then, being a clever and shrewd merchant, he contacted his neighboring colony in the north. He offered them massive deals on brick if only they would give him a little ore. One of the neighboring colonies jumped at the chance because they hadn't any brick due to the recent monopoly. And so the governor had everything he needed and that day he commissioned the building of a great new city and a new settlement in the north as well as his great road.

Within the month, all the colonies on the island were either abandoned or they were controlled by the shrewd merchant governor. The End.

Well, there is our story. It's a story of hardship and struggle, but mostly it is the story of one governor's magnificent brilliance in wiping the floor with his opponents.

Laying Down the Law

2011-10-27T22:41:00.000-04:00

Earlier this morning my brother and I taught a Biblical Greek class. We have been doing this regularly on Thursdays, and sometimes Mondays, for about four months. We are actually more like TAs; we teach so that the primary teacher, our Pastor, can continue the teaching of the students while still having flexibility with his schedule. We are competent readers of Greek but much less competent teachers. But we do our best and the students are learning Greek slowly but surely.

Today, we had a "Law Moment" Recently the students had been falling behind on their homework; not doing translations, laboring over some of the more basic grammar concepts and they were falling behind on vocabulary. Today we assigned them a vocab quiz. All vocab, about an hundred and some words; they were given thirty-five minutes to fill it out and afterwards we walked through it and marked anything that they got wrong or missed in red crayon, crayon 'cause we're cool like that, and between now and next class, they need to have their parents sign every page of the test to show that they know how much they need to work on it. Pastor hated to have to assign this, but it's the best way to get them to work. He knows from experience...

How about a little story, hmm? Once upon a time, there was a homeschool Greek class taught by a generous Pastor. The Pastor was a good teacher and well loved by all his students. Time passed and the class grew smaller, people moved, people decided they would rather spend their time doing other things; some just wanted to learn Latin instead. And eventually there were only two students. These two students, despite the fact that they were the only ones left, were not the most studious pair. They had always had bad study habits, not memorizing their vocab and not learning their grammar.
One day, the Pastor decided to give his two remaining students a full comprehensive test; including a large vocab test, grammar, and direct translations. The two students did terribly. In less than an hour the Pastor learned that they retained very little of what he had taught them. He decided that he had to lay down the law. Starting from the beginning of the book, he walked the students through everything again, sending assignments with them every week that they would have to do and then have signed by their parents.
The Pastor's plan worked! It was not long before the students were back up to speed and studying new concepts. In fact, they did so well that a couple years after these events, the Pastor had them start assisting with the teaching of a new crop of students...

And so, by the grace of God and the dedicated perseverance of his servant, I have a greater appreciation not only for Ancient Greek, but also for the written word.
I look forward to my continued study of the language as my brother and I slowly move towards almost complete independence from lexicons.

Could you please occupy a shower next?

2011-10-16T20:16:00.001-04:00

In case it was not understood from the title, this post is going to be about "Occupy Wallstreet" and its constituent protests. Fun!

I was riding in the car with my mother as we went through downtown on our way home. We drove past the courthouse on our way and, sure enough, there was the Ft. Wayne contingent of the 'occupy' movement....

All twenty of them.

They had held a big organized protest in One Summit Square; the local newspaper was only too eager to report that, "About 300 demonstrators showed up Saturday morning at One Summit Square plaza, for a rally inspired by the grass-roots Occupy Wall Street movement that began four weeks ago in New York City."

"Marchers were invited to take the mic and express their opinions, as passing motorists honking in support nearly drowned them out. By 1:30 p.m. the number of demonstrators had grown to what organizer Lambert thought was about 400. Earlier in the week, organizers had predicted 600 people would turn out."

I don't know about that. From what I have heard from people present during that time period there were about a hundred protesters, and those driving past were not in fact honking in support, but beseeching the participants to, 'get a job and take a shower.' Which are both, I am sure, valid requests.

I'm afraid that I often have the strong urge to ruthlessly mock the protesters. I can't help it, I have absolutely no empathy for the people demanding such things as amnesty from debt; free higher education, or the beheading of responsible businessmen.

What strikes me as the most poignant, is this: the protesters are so proud that they have been having these week long constant camping protests. And what is the reason they can do so? They don't have jobs of their own; they probably aren't even paying taxes. They are out protesting in the public square, while the very people they are protesting are working full work days in order to make a living, which includes all the taxes they have to pay so that these protesters get their unemployment checks. If these are the 99%.... I'd rather stand by the bourgeois capitalist pigs, at least they earn their bacon.

And this is all just talking about the local protesters......

New York.
What else need I say? If you have followed any of this you will know what things are like in the area of the protest. I don't feel the need to list some of things that are happening there. But let me ask you a question. In all of the hundreds of gigantic Tea party events across the nation, were there ever any mass-arrests? Or video and audio recordings of *extreme* antisemitism?

I cannot help but hope that those who have done so continue to compare these protests to the Tea parties. The difference is night and day, and people see that.

Thank you for reading.

DND.... It's Dynamite.

2011-10-10T20:42:00.003-04:00

It strikes me as exceeding ironic that this should be my first blog post in a long time. There are so many things happening right now that annoy and bother me to no end; but nevertheless, I am not posting about raucous protests or obnoxious policy debates; I am posting about Dungeons & Dragons.

Last week my little brother and I went to a local game place and attended a DnD for beginners class. We got there early so that we could introduce ourselves and begin creating our characters, which was an hour and thirty minute process.

The game itself, once we finally got to playing it, is not thought intensive; it's based on a simple skill and counter skill system that I find very appealing. I won't go into details of gameplay, I won't be *that* boring.

My brother and I had fun. It was a fairly large group, by DnD standards, and they sadly fell into almost every Nerd stereotype that I have. They were nice guys though and a lot of them tried hard to help us understand the game better. I rather enjoyed the whole experience, even if it did help to reaffirm all the DnD stereotypes in my head.

And so, now the question I ask myself is this: Should I make the effort of learning how to Dungeon Master so that I can form my own DnD group with my friends?

Right about now you're brain is saying, "Nerdnerdnerdnerdnerdnerd!"

Which I would not deny, it is nerdy; but it is also fun. I have several friends who play, and a few more who have expressed interest in learning how. It would take some work, a little organizing and a relatively small monetary investment on my part.

So what do you think? Oh much respected and valued reader? To DM? Or, to not DM? That is the question.

P.S. I am going to make an effort to blog more often.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T23:09:00.002-05:00

"Of the Father's love begotten Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending he,
Of the things that are, that have been, and that future years shall see
Evermore and evermore."

Merry Christmas and God bless you.

Saving Private Ryan.

2009-12-14T07:51:00.002-05:00

On Saturday I was at home with my brothers all day. My mother and sister were shopping, my father was fixing my sister's car and my brothers and I spent the day doing very little work and lazing about.
Towards the middle of the afternoon we got sick of watching the news, it was annoying and we were tired. So, we decided to turn on a movie. We spent some time considering and finally we chose one, "Saving Private Ryan."
For those who have not seen or heard of it Saving Private Ryan is a world war two movie about a group of soldiers who are sent deep into German territory in order to find and rescue Private James Francis Ryan.
If you have seen the movie, than you know that it is one of the most intense movies you will ever see and probably one of the more violent. It is one of those movies that makes you ache for the sake of the experiences of the characters, not because you are scared or even disgusted, but because the movie was accurate. It properly showed a modern audience what a hell WWII was. Especially some of the parts that are covered in the movie, like the storming of the beaches on D-day.
I wouldn't say that people don't know how bad it was, but to see it presented in such a manner is concussive.
But all of that is merely background on what I wanted to say, which is that, after watching that movie, I did walk away thinking, 'Wow, that was violent.' But, at the same time, when I asked myself, 'Could you remove any of the violence from it?' The only answer I could come to was no.
I thought about it and I talked about it to other members of my family, and what I came to was the fact that, in movies, there are three different types of violence. There is Chaotic Violence, which is when the characters are under threat of injury from their surroundings, examples, 'Jurassic Park' or disaster movies like 'Twister'. Now obviously, these can be pushed over the top, but not very easily.
Number two is one that is much more easily identified; Grotesque Violence, which is in movies like 'Saw', 'Friday the Thirteenth', 'Rambo', 'The Ring' and others, but it is not just in horror movies, anything that is more violent than realistic is grotesque. It is violence almost entirely for the sake of the violence.
Finally, what I call, The Violence of Reality, weird name but it's the best way I can think of to describe it, it is violence for the sake of the story, it stands in the important spot of the setting, unlike grotesque violence which uses it as the theme. It brings out the characters, shows what their world is and calls them to do great things in the face of almost certain death. Of course, the funny thing is, that the movies that fall into this category are almost always war movies and are almost always based on a true story; movies like 'Gettysburg', 'The Patriot', 'Braveheart', 'Letters to Iwo-jima' nad the subject of this post, 'Saving Private Ryan'.
It is not that the violence in these movies isn't a bad thing, but it is the fact that it is the reality that this is the way the world is, that these characters have to stand before the yawning maw of death itself and while standing there say that they will continue even to their death. The characters shine forth out of the darkness of the desperation of their situation. The violence must be there, for no other reason than the fact that if the situation were the same in the real world there would be violence and death.
In my oppinion, what it all comes down to is this: Violence, like any other movie component should only be used to form a setting for a larger and grander story, it should not be the story, but it is a tool to help solidify the story, to make you see the bravery in some characters and the cowardice of others, to expose the wise and the foolish, and to convey the truth of what is happening in the story. If you are going to tell a story about war, you shouldn't ignore the ugliness and the bitterness that war is, it would be an insult to anyone or anything who has been scarred by war.
You don't have to agree with me, I don't mind if you don't like violent movies, I'm not going to say that this is the only right way to think. Likewise if you like the afore-mentioned style of bloody horror films I will not say you can't watch them, these are my oppinions, and as far as I'm concerned you are free in the Gospel ;-) to watch 'Saw' until the cows come home.
If you made it all the way through my obnoxiously long shpiel... Thank you for reading.

Infectious Loathing.

2009-06-20T17:54:00.002-04:00

I just thought I would vent a little.
I had a Tonsil Infection a couple weeks ago, right before I sang the National Anthem for 7,700 people.
I get home from CCA having tripped while playing capture the flag. And Mama sends me straight to the REDIMED, where I Learn that the small puncture wound on my leg became infected.

So now I'm sitting in a recliner with my foot up, and venting. This stinks.

Guitar or Bust.... (Most likely bust)

2009-03-22T23:24:00.002-04:00

For Christmas my parents bought me a guitar.
I have since developed the urge to be able to play it... It's painful...
It'll really hurt until I have proper calluses, which will take a little while.
Now I know the meaning of the term, "Play 'til your fingers bleed."
So either I'll come out of it playing guitar, or I'll need my fingers amputated...
I'm hoping for the first one... Crossing fingers... (While I still have them.)

Fall...

2008-10-28T00:22:00.003-04:00

Fall is my favorite season. It's never to hot, the trees are beautiful, the apples are best, the air is at it's freshest, I appreciate my comforters in my bed even more, apple cider, pumpkin pie, and so many other wonderful things... So what do you think? Do you agree, that fall is the most wonderful season... Or, do you have another candidate?

The beauty of Halo

2008-10-19T23:21:00.006-04:00

Anyone who has talked about video games with me will know that, I love Halo... In the past I have spent hours -of what could have been useful time- playing Halo... I'm pretty good at it, if you are playing with me and a group of friends and you suddenly go reeling from a sniper shot to the head... That will be me... But it's not just about the game play, (The fighting part...)
It's also about the story. Halo has a wonderful in game story... I dislike it when I tell people I enjoy Halo, and they think it's all about the fighting. Many of the games I play have a good story... Unless they are strategy games, and even then the campaign's usually have a good story... Much of the fun is in the unfolding story. It's like watching a movie only, you control what direction the screen moves... That does not mean it's not fun to fight a one on one battle with a friend... Don't get me wrong, I love a game with a solid combat system... But a game is nothing without a solid story...
So if you want, you can give me your opinion, agree or disagree...

Lakeland Music Camp.

2008-08-14T21:07:00.002-04:00

A couple weeks ago, I attended the Lakeland Music Camp... In Sheboygan WI. I went with an old friend. (Who was the only real reason I went in the first place...)
It was a lot of fun... But I didn't think so at first... The first night, I was extremely tense, I missed my family... And earlier that day I had tried out for the Honors Recital, and was still waiting for the results. (I thought I had horribly messed up during my audition...) Needless to say, I was dreading the entire week. I called my mother, and she did a very good job of calming me down. After talking to her I felt a little better. I finally decided that I would have fun when it came time for the guest performer, who was performing the next night... His name was Stas Venglevski, he played an instrument called a Bayan, which is pretty much a giant Accordion. He played it so beautifully, so skillfully, it made my day to watch him play it... (And I learned I had made it into the Honors Recital.) After that I had a pretty happy outlook on the rest of the week...

Day one, Sunday... Drive up... Moving into the dorm... Melt down... That's pretty much it...

Day Two, Monday... On day two my real schedule began... I had breakfast, and then the fun began with Theory. Theory was fun, the teacher was funny. Her name was, Jeanne Mueller, and she couldn't help but talk about her other job, where she worked at a Funeral Home... :-)
After Theory was Choir rehearsal, As directed by Janet L. Herrick... It was AWESOME!!!! It was the first time I had sung with a such a large group of organized talent, we were singing college level music. I was one of only six other Basses -one left the day before the final performance, so we only had five when we actually performed- and we still sounded great! I LOVED IT!!!
After that came Camp Choir, where the entire camp -band members included- would practice "singing" a few pieces... After that came my Guitar elective. That was fun...
After Guitar was Lunch, Lunch, ah Lunch... Lunch was always fun, I can't quite remember who I sat with every day though... After Lunch we had our Choir Sectionals. That was one of my favorite parts of the day. Our sectionals leader was named David Bourgeois. He was extremely nice, and hilariously funny. He was determined that -even though the Bass section was the smallest- we would be louder than the rest of the choir. I believe that we did pretty well on that count... After that we had another choir practice... And after that choir practice, I had my Conducting Class. The person who directed that was funny, and it also gave him credit that he was a huge Bugs Bunny fan :-) ... After that there were a couple hours of free time... After free time was dinner. And after that came the afore mentioned guest performer. (And good news concerning the Honors Recital..)

Day three, Tuesday... Tuesday began wonderfully, I woke up at Five-Thirty A.M. And was first to Shower, and first to Breakfast, I got there One-hour early, and read Pride and Prejudice, until they opened the doors to the Cafeteria... I sat with someone who was one of my first friends at music camp... His name was Lukas Shelton, I had, had Breakfast -and Lunch- with him the day before... Well it just so happens that I had forgotten to tell him I was in the Honors recital... He asked one of his friends to sit with us. And when she did, the first thing she said was, "Oh, Congratulations on making the Honors Recital." Lukas turned and looked at me and said, "You didn't tell me you were in the Honors Recital..." I replied that I thought he had seen it when they put it in the Camp Newsletter the night before... He replied, "Why would I look at that if I didn't try out?" So, for the rest of the week, he called me, "Mr. Honors Recital" or, "Mr. 'I'm gonna get into the Honors Recital and not tell Lukas.'" or, "Mr. Get make it into the Honors Recital and not tell me." the most common one was the first... The rest of the day was same until that night... The Faculty Recital... It was mostly typical performances... Except for two... One, was one of the councilors. Singing a German piece called, Erlkonig, in English The Earl King... And the other interesting one was the entire faculty performing, Jump Jive and Wail. And Jump by Van Halen. On Handbells... That was cool... Whoops, I forgot to mention that on this day I tried out for the Talent show... I didn't make it... But oh well...

Day four, Wednesday. The day of the Honors Recital... Other than the Honors Recital, there wasn't much going on... Same schedule. The Honors Recital... The hours before the Honors Recital, I was constantly singing my song to myself, to make sure I made no mistakes... When it came time I didn't feel that nervous... But as the wise Jeedai once said, "Your feelings can deceive you." I was nervous as anything... My voice didn't shake, but my hands did. I went out on stage and sang, "The People That Walked In Darkness" -From Handels Messiah- for the thousandth time. And by the time I was finished, I couldn't feel my fingers... I didn't win the competition. No, a much more skilled musician than myself won... She played the Cello with the utmost skill. After that there was a Pizza party.

Day five, Thursday... Same daily Schedule... until the Talent Show, 8-)
It was HILARIOUS!!!!! There were only a few serious performers... All the rest were people goofing off... Like the "Spice Boys" a group off shameless guys, who put on crazily colored wigs, and did the Spice Girl's dances, to their proper music. After that there was a dance. At first I was quite determined not to dance at all... But then Lukas (Good old Lukas,) Walks up to me and asks me why I'm not dancing. And despite all protests of how I couldn't dance, he made me dance. I danced all but three of the songs after that...

Day six, Friday, last day before I see my Brothers and my mother, YAY!!!!
I don't mean to say that it wasn't fun... But I missed them... Same schedule as usual, except that instead of free time, we had our Final Camp Choir rehearsal... And that night was the Elective Classes Concert... I was quite glad that I was not in any of the groups performing... The best ones, were the Stage Combat groups... They did skits that really had very little to do with actual fighting... But they were funny...

The last day, Saturday... The Main Ensemble Concerts, Awards, and Departure...
The Main Ensembles consisted of many, many Piano Ensembles, two, or three Bands, and two Choirs... I was in the more complicated of the two Choirs. I believe that we did extremely well.
Then came the Camp Choir performance, and the Awards Ceremony... And much to my joy, I won an award! The Director of each major Ensemble, was allowed to give two awards away to the two people who they believed contributed the most to that Ensemble... It just so happens, that Ms. Herrick awarded one of these to me. :-) Isn't that nice... And then I was homeward bound, listening to Classic Rock all the way... The End :~)

Weddings.

2008-07-11T12:40:00.002-04:00

"Mawiage, Mawiage is what bwings us togetha today, Mawiage dat bwessed awangement, dat dweam wiphin our dweams." -The Princess Bride.

I love weddings! There is an air of happiness found seldom elsewhere, (except perhaps Easter...)
What a wonderful image, two people who love each other joining in holy wedlock. It is hard to find an angry person at a wedding, (usually that is.) There is so much joy, so much happiness, the Church is beautiful, and the excitement that the people feel is dazziling.
I think that the very essence of love is personified in a wedding. One Man, and One Woman, Promising to love eachother even until death do they part.

Clangore the Far Seer.

2008-04-28T23:35:00.009-04:00

I have had at least three people ask me Who, or what "Clangore" is... Clangore is the name that I use when playing video games, and he is an Orc. Where he came from: His full name is actually Clangore the Far Seer. And where he came from is a funny story... My brothers and I love to play all sorts of video games, and there are two games in particular from which this name stems, WarCraft, and Morrowind. We had been playing WarCraft and in WarCraft you can have different heroes with each civilization. And with the Orcs, you can choose either Tauren Chieftain, Troll Medicine Man, BladeMaster, or Far Seer. We had been playing WarCraft for awhile when my brother bought Morrowind Elder Scrolls III, In Morrowind, you create your person, and you can choose from several different races amongst which are Orcs. So one day I was making a new person and I decided I wanted to have an Orc, and I wanted him to use magic, so I tried to think of some names and I had been playing Warcraft recently so I started to try and think of Far Seer names... Now the fact that it is "Clangore" is sheerly from my own twisted imagination.

Star Wars.

2008-04-20T00:03:00.002-04:00

I'm feeling bored, so I'm going to talk about Star Wars.
Recently, I have been realizing how much I do not like the First, Second, and Third, Star Wars movies. I have had multiple debates about this with some of my friends, and I have become very firm in my belief that the series was better, before episodes One through four were made.
I know that many people would disagree... But this is just my opinion. Please respond with your arguments: For, or against.

Who am I and why am I here?

2008-04-17T09:56:00.001-04:00

I have come upon the earth and with my own two feet taken possession.
Boo!